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ARLINGTON, MASS., THURSDAY,
DECEMBER 26, 1940
British Mettle
Shown in Letter
From South Wales
The
following letter from a British correspondent of an Institute of Foreign
Relations member was sent to the Advocate by Professor Arthur I. Andrews, whose
home was formerly on Gray Street.
South Wales
November 18,
1940
Dear
Professor A.
Thank you very much for “The
Speaker.” I always feel that any letters are too dull to send so I am pleased
they were of sufficient interest. When one is always busy in the home, one gets
an Inferiority complex!
This is
going to be our wartime address, unless it becomes dangerous for John to live
in. So far we have had warnings daily but have become so used to nothing
happening that we really feel safe here. It is the route for more important
places—there is nothing here of value, except our lives which I nearly forgot
about!
My home in London has had its
several very bad shakings and one land mine (there were three in back of gardens
near) finished off all the glass. Ceilings are now down - roof partly off and
chimney pots down and doors blown in, cracks in walls 6in wide; but fortunately
all this happened the week those poor children were torpedoed in the Atlantic,
and the house seemed so trivial when I had John safe and sound, that I haven’t
worried, a bit. Besides. I squirm when I think that the French couldn’t fight
for their Paris – to me and that is most of us London is far finer in ruins and
I am so proud of the way the Londoners are sticking it, day and night. My
husband sleeps in the shelter next door. He was the only one left in our road
but now two sisters have come back to one house—so you can see the extent of
damage in our road.
Londoners go home from work, have a meal, then prepare for
the night; make a thermos of coffee or milk, and hot water bottle and get their
oil lamp or stove ready and settle down early in shelter. My husband comes here
for a rest every fortnight. He sleeps most of the time he is here. In spite of
severe damage to my district I am surprised that fruit and vegetables are half
the price in our London shopping centre (market stalls run by cockneys) and yet
in this quiet seaside and country town tomatoes are 2/ and only 1/ in London
though ruined shops are all around and transport can not be as easy as it is
here.
My husband gets his milk, bread
and paper delivered as usual daily, and gas, water, and electric lights are
still on, though for a few days he had to turn the electric heater on its back
and boil a kettle and fry bacon that way—but all the services were all right in
a few days after that first bombardment. (He has boarded up the kitchen and one
room.)
Plenty of Good Meals
I often feel ashamed of the way
I really enjoy good meals when I think of poor people abroad! We have plenty of
everything, and I am thankful that I have seen no trace of nervousness or poor
feeding anywhere, in children or grown ups. Boys, are of course, thrilled with,
aeroplanes and no child seems conscious of the terror of war, except of course
those who have actually been in intense bombardment.
We hope you and Mrs. A. are well. We are all so very
grateful to you for what you are sending us and for your moral backing. We like
a little praise. I think we deserve it after what we went through in June, many
countries would have gone under but we just pulled ourselves together, and
refused to even think of defeat, and we never once lost confidence, though
everything seemed against us, except our colonies and you all in America.
The only complaint my husband used to hear in London was the
fact that we were too careful of hitting military objectives—people considered
civilian morale should count indirectly as a “military objective,” and they
wanted the people in Berlin to suffer the same inconvenience of sleeping in
dug-outs, etc.
We all disliked the closing of the Burma Road; we dislike
anything in the nature of appeasement and are relieved that the Burma Road is
now open.
We were all delighted that we leased you bases. We were
accepting too -much from you and so eagerly that we gladly welcomed this
gesture.
No One to Take Churchill’s Place
Poor Chamberlain! We were all sorry at his death as he did
try hard, but there was no-deep feeling of regret. We all agree that there is
no one to take Churchill’s place.
The King and Queen are really wonderful. They work harder
than anyone, and do such a lot of good.
My
husband tells me the cockney humor is still as keen as ever.
One shop whose windows were boarded up and place in ruins had “If you can’t see
what you like—step inside.”
There are a big number of
evacuees here. We are trying to form a club for them meet and have tea.
My husband complains of the loneliness of London now; he was
the only one living in our road until this week and he says after work he
only sees the baker and the milkman who call daily. Most of his colleagues have
evacuated.
November 19th:
I received
such a kind letter from Mrs. G and will reply in a few days. All the good
wishes we receive do help us—-we seem to thrive on kindness.
We are very upset about
Coventry. In spite of very heavy casualties only, 2: percent are willing to
leave their city to homes found for them. This war has taught us to appreciate
the simple things of life, our homes a very dear to us, and yet there are no
regrets when those homes are unfit to live in. I am proud of the way we are
defending London.
A cup of Tea Put Them Right
The first
home we had when we married had a bomb in the front garden and the two old
people we had sold it to, years ago, were dragged out, and all they wanted to
put them right was a cup of tea—though their neighbor was killed. Our next home
(No. 70) had a bomb in garden, and it too, is only just standing, like No. 88. .
We are astounded at the few people killed in our district, miraculous escapes.
We feel very lucky, our furniture is here and our children
are safe. It is impossible to get furniture out of London for three months or
so—big waiting list for vans.
The tide has turned and we see
our way clearer than before though it will be a long time we feel, before the
war will be over.
Last June we wanted the children out of this country. We
wouldn’t admit it -before, but we were so afraid they wouldn’t be well fed—but I
wish you could see John he is called “Tubby” in school! We also felt that we
should get much more severe bombardment everywhere, and that very few places
would be safe. Now my mind is quite at ease, I don’t even worry as I did at
first when the sirens went, and I am so thankful John is still in this country.
Siriol is very happy in Canada.
It is fine experience for her.
I worry more about the sailors than I do the Air Force,
especially when we had a terrible gale last week, and yet we get everything we
need, thanks to our sailors, arid with few exceptions (onions and lemons are not
plentiful—tho’ we grew our onions in London—have some left) we get everything we
want. Our flower bed in London produced about 100 lbs. of tomatoes, they are 2/
a lb. here, as well as carrots and onions and peas.
With best regards to Mrs. A. and many thanks to all
Americans.
Yours
sincerely,
E. L.
P. S.—At the Womens Voluntary
Service meeting I went to -this afternoon, the speaker said amongst other kind
remarks about you in America, “The highest tribute should be paid to the
American Red Cross.” She said that bales and bales of -clothing had come for
our evacuees. There were several very useful garments with the mark “American
Red Cross” on them.
We are going to form a club for Evacuee Mothers to meet and
have tea and sew or read, and another club for children under five, so that
their mothers can have a rest occasionally, and we may start, or attempt to, a
communal kitchen. Many mothers with young children have had to leave their
homes suddenly in the clothes they were wearing, and same of them are not the
type who have many interests, so I am afraid it is dull for them out of
surroundings and homes that they are used to. We feel we could lighten their
lives a little perhaps. I always forget I am an evacuee myself, but it is quite
different when you have your own house and own furniture and plenty of work to
do! Our tenants have left so we have the whole house, it is really lovely after
living in a. bed-sitting room in this house for four months, but I paid
Siriol’s passage to Canada by doing this.
We are really grateful to you
all for what you are doing for us, and we do appreciate your kind thoughts.
We watched your Election with great interest though we knew
too little about Willkie to be disappointed.
E.L.
Securing informative letters is
part of the work of the Institute of World Affairs. Answers are invited and
should e sent through Arthur I. Andrews, Secretary, Warner, New Hampshire.
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